Number of people working for themselves up by half in 15 years but their average pay down £60 a week, thinktanks say

Britain’s growing army of self-employed workers are earning less than they were 15 years ago and are vulnerable to changes that will make the welfare system less generous, two new thinktank reports have revealed.

The Resolution Foundation said the 45% increase in people deemed to be working for themselves since 2001-02 had been accompanied by a £60-a-week cut in the average pay packet.

Institute of Economic Affairs says Brussels has fallen victim to lobbying and introduced rules with little benefit to consumers which ‘create deadweight costs’

Britain can jettison hundreds of costly agricultural regulations which have pushed up food prices, offsetting the extra costs of European Union tariffs, according to a report by a free market thinktank.

A study by the Institute of Economic Affairs argues that Brussels has fallen victim to intense lobbying by pressure groups which benefit from tighter rules on food standards, animal welfare and the environment.